This Album is BAD

ahhh....so they (EG) come by it naturally....selling out, that is.....if the majority of Sweden has sold out and speaks english too.:lol:
 
wtf is this selling out crap? you gotta pay the bills somehow. ever think EG was trying to expand their fanbase? they have a legion of followers who love that whole gothenburg sound and feel and emotion, now they are possibly looking to draw in more fans who were once weary of that sort of music. a lot of people start listening to bands on their "sell out" albums and progress backwards and fall in love with their older stuff.
 
first listen seems odd to me from the last balance of the other records.. I like the maturity though. I will give it a few more listens. Patrick where are you!!!!!!!You left Tom with out hos Bohnam...
 
this album is more of a step sideways than either backwards or forwards. I dont think its really any better or worse than their old stuff, but its definitely different, which in a way is good. IMO the band was definitely ready for a style change and im satisfied with what they did
 
I'm still perplexed by what is *bad* about music that is friendly with radio. Who wouldn't want to hear Evergrey on the radio instead of the crap they play these days?
 
Kenneth R. said:
I'm still perplexed by what is *bad* about music that is friendly with radio. Who wouldn't want to hear Evergrey on the radio instead of the crap they play these days?

I'm assuming you're talking about American radio, right? Well I'm definitely one person who wouldn't want to hear Evergrey on the radio here. There is about a million reasons that I've already discussed so often with my friends over a beer and a blunt that I'm getting weary getting into. But for the sake of making this a real post I'll note the main reason: The majority of the American public, especially the age groups which consistently listen to the radio, is unable to truly think for themselves. I see this kinda thing every day trust me, it's either whatever gets radio play has a catchy beat or it's something that sounds loud and heavy. It's that simple, people like it because it's on the radio which means that's it's the current fad. It's not that the music is good, and to have Evergrey come on in my gym right in between 3 Doors Down and Nickelback would make me utterly sick. Sure, they'd immediately gain fans and make it big, but it would crush the integrity and the essence of the band. Hope you see my point.
 
Honestly, I don't. What is wrong with a great band getting much-deserved fans? Maybe those people will discover Evergrey, and learn to think for themselves. Maybe not, their loss. I don't see what's so evil about radioplay. If a good band gets radioplay, that's one victory in the so-called battle for the ear of the public. If many good bands get radioplay, the radio would not suck, would it? So your logic seems confounded to me.

I don't understand why anyone would wish a band they enjoy to not recieve praise, even if it is praise by an unfamiliar audience
 
Kenneth R. said:
Honestly, I don't. What is wrong with a great band getting much-deserved fans? Maybe those people will discover Evergrey, and learn to think for themselves. Maybe not, their loss. I don't see what's so evil about radioplay. If a good band gets radioplay, that's one victory in the so-called battle for the ear of the public. If many good bands get radioplay, the radio would not suck, would it? So your logic seems confounded to me.

I don't understand why anyone would wish a band they enjoy to not recieve praise, even if it is praise by an unfamiliar audience

Hmm alright. A band like Evergrey deserves every fan in the world, I'd fucking love it if as many people as possible felt the same way I do when I listen to them. Unfortunately metal is not for everyone, far from it and that's a fact. Especially the kind of metal Evergrey play (well, used to play I should say). Like I said the radio is a pop culture medium just as much as MTv. Yes, it provides exposure, but to the wrong people for the wrong reasons. There will be a handful of people that upon hearing Evergrey will get into them for what they are, for their amazing music and feeling. But the rest will just do what most Americans who rely on radio for musical exposure will do, say 'hey this is like, really heavy dude, like the drums are fast and there's breakdowns and stuff, awesome'. Then they'll download a bunch of songs (because the majority of the people like this do not buy many albums especially those which may be more difficult to find, it's all about the IPod now) and then piss me off by saying 'yeah that Evergrey they're so cool lol!!1'. Then when I will start talking about the reasons they like them, they'll spew something like 'they sound like metal 80's, it's awesome'. Yes, I've heard exactly these statements from my friends who don't know metal and have heard Evergrey. Like I said it's about the integrity and essence of the music and though this may sound elitist, it's true for the majority of the metal community.
 
To me, that DOES sound elitist, and quite absurd in my opinion. Who are you to decide who can/should listen to metal/Evergrey? Who deemed YOU worthy enough to hear the band? Get over yourself, people like music for different reasons. Personally I enjoy music that speaks to strong passions and works emotions out of the listener. Someone else might just want to headbang themselves unconscious. Who is right and wrong?
 
First of all,Metal is an underground,honest music with balls!
Every trend sooner or later will be over,and if you stay out of the trends through the years and play YOUR music,people will realize your quality and respect your attitude and the band will be respected for always,not just for a week on some crappy radio top list.That's one of the reasons why I like Heavy Metal so much.
 
Barbarian lord said:
First of all,Metal is an underground,honest music with balls!
Every trend sooner or later will be over,and if you stay out of the trends through the years and play YOUR music,people will realize your quality and respect your attitude and the band will be respected for always,not just for a week on some crappy radio top list.That's one of the reasons why I like Heavy Metal so much.


Hah damn you pretty much expressed my feelings in one post while I obviously wasted my time trying to explain this in a couple fucking essays to this guy. Keep it true, man :kickass:
 
Kenneth R. said:
To me, that DOES sound elitist, and quite absurd in my opinion. Who are you to decide who can/should listen to metal/Evergrey? Who deemed YOU worthy enough to hear the band? Get over yourself, people like music for different reasons. Personally I enjoy music that speaks to strong passions and works emotions out of the listener. Someone else might just want to headbang themselves unconscious. Who is right and wrong?


As for you pal, you obviously don't get it and you never will. Whatever, I could care less. You're naive in thinking that metal is for anyone and should be on pop radio, you're also naive in thinking that it will ever happen. I for one am glad that it won't and thankfully there are many more true metal warriors like me that understand the meaning and essence of metal than people who think like you.
 
I'm sorry but it's YOU who's naive in thinking that you can horde your favorite bands to yourself and keep it tr00 and underground.

"true metal warriors" are out there giving metal its due, not bitching about it on a message board, crying that their fav band is suddenly more popular than they ever wished. As I said earlier, you're being dillusional and if you are truly even a fan of the band or of metal at all, you'd have the 2 braincells it takes to understand that more money for a band = more music for you, and more fans = more people who may recognize the band's talent and message.

Metal on pop radio will never happen? Let's rewind to 1987. Were you around then? This whole "nu metal" movement may not be your thing, but it is the first foot in the door for real metal to make a return to the spotlight. If you don't like it, then start your own underground, unknown, underappreciated band and stfu.

I'm honestly sick to death of people like you who think they know what music industry means and think they understand the nature of pop culture. Did you ever consider that perhaps Evergrey WANTED to create MMA the way they did? Makes a hell of a lot of sense to me since it's their album. That's right, not yours, theirs. And if that's following their true metal spirits in creating music that moves them, good for them. Personally I think its a great disc, regardless of the "threat" of popular appeal.

edit: took out all the nasty things i said due to me being so shocked that anyone could hold such absurd notions and then attack me for pointing it out. sorry.
 
After listening to the album, I must say that this album is a bit of a disappointment. The album doesn't suck and Evergrey hasn't sold out, this album has its own share of strengths and weaknesses. It's more on the prog side and has its own technical moments.

Firstly, the cover sucks. Studio albums with members of the band on the front cover look very geeky. A better cover would've been the wallpaper, on the Media page, that has 3 faces.

Now, let's go right to the songs. The songs are very short compared to those of their previous albums. Also, "Monday Morning Apocalypse" is their 2nd shortest album in Evergrey's discography after "Solitude Dominance Tragedy". I've also noticed that the keyboards in this album are almost inaudible, except for the tracks "Till Dagmar" and "Closure". Also, Carina Englund's vocals were hardly present in the album. She adds the emotional elements to the band. Maybe I'm saying this because I got over-used to her in "The Inner Circle".

I was given the impression that the opening track was "Still In The Water" as that was the first of the sample tracks before the released date. I must say that "Still In The Water" should've been the opening track of the album as it's dark and somewhat has an 'apocalyptic' feel. Also, when you listen to the lyrics of "Still In The Water" and then "Monday Morning Apocalypse", they form a series because "Still In The Water" has the words "How can I save myself from Apocalypse..." and "Monday Morning Apocalypse" has the words "How long have you held me in this water ?...How long have you kept me in this water?...". I asked some people to experiment listening to the album by making "Still In The Water" as the opening track, and they told me that the album sounds much much better and they also agree with me that it's more than odd to put this song as the 9th of the tracklist.

Speaking of the title-track, it has the weakest chorus from all the songs of the album. I don't know if "weakest" would be the right word. The chorus of "Monday Morning Apocalypse" is not very appealing and catchy. Also, there are hints of improvements in Tom's voice; this is very evident in the last song of the album "Closure". My favorite track of the whole album is "At Loss For Words". Actually, after hearing the song's lyrics, "At A Loss Of Words" is a much more grammatically and technically suitable and accurate title. This isn't the only song w/ a technical error in language, there are other songs in Evergrey's previous albums in which such errors are present.

All the songs are great. I look at this album as an experimental piece and I'd use this album to introduce everyone to Evergrey. If they're happy with "Monday Morning Apocalypse", then they must check out their earlier albums that defined them. What's missing in this album is the intensity of the heaviness you find in their previous albums. This album is heavy, but not so heavy and intense compared to their previous albums. The intensity, which is the driving force in their previous albums, is also lacking. Since I mentioned that the keyboards are almost inaudible, there aren't any keyboard solos from Rikard. Come on guys, Rikard's a great keyboardist and his solo in "End Of Your Days" is fucking amazing. Speaking of Rikard, I'm sorry to hear about the death of your grandmother, Dagmar Nordell, and she has all my prayers. May her soul rest in peace. I must say "Till Dagmar" is a very beautiful instrumental piece. It's also the only Evergrey song w/ a Swedish title.

I rate this album 9 out of 10, and Evergrey getting a 9 is a disappointment. My advice to the Evergrey guys is stop working with Sanken Sandqvist, and get Arnold Lindberg back. Yes, I understand that "Monday Morning Apocalypse" was about 'crossing boundaries'. If you wanna do something different for a change, add more keyboard solos and have complex rhythm and riffing structures, and make your guitar solo sections more technical and progressive and challenging. At the same time, maintain the intensity and heaviness you have in your first 5 albums. Jonas Ekdahl, you're a great and talented drummer...be a little more aggressive, especially on the snares. And lastly, no hard feelings guys, please proofread your lyrics before releasing them, and make sure there aren’t any grammatical and technical errors. Please don’t take this as offence…English is neither your nor my native tongue, and you guys are doing a great job in a language that the whole world understands. I couldn’t have done any better in Swedish. Evergrey isn’t the only band that made grammatical errors in their lyrics, even bands like Amon Amarth and Bathory did. Do your best in avoiding grammatical errors by proofreading your lyrics and we fans are always there to help you. If I did offend you w/ my advice on grammar, I apologize in advance and I ask for forgiveness.

I hope my review and pieces of advice help the band and the fans understand. I rest my case.

"Monday Morning Apocalypse" rating:

:headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: out of 10
 
pentakle361 said:
After listening to the album, I must say that this album is a bit of a disappointment. The album doesn't suck and Evergrey hasn't sold out, this album has its own share of strengths and weaknesses. It's more on the prog side and has its own technical moments.

Firstly, the cover sucks. Studio albums with members of the band on the front cover look very geeky. A better cover would've been the wallpaper, on the Media page, that has 3 faces.

Now, let's go right to the songs. The songs are very short compared to those of their previous albums. This is their 2nd shortest album after "The Dark Discovery". I've also noticed that the keyboards in this album are almost inaudible, except for the tracks "Till Dagmar" and "Closure". Also, Carina Englund's vocals were hardly present in the album. She adds the emotional elements to the band. Maybe I'm saying this because I got over-used to her in "The Inner Circle".

I was given the impression that the opening track was "Still In The Water" as that was the first of the sample tracks before the released date. I must say that "Still In The Water" should've been the opening track of the album as it's dark and somewhat has an 'apocalyptic' feel. Also, when you listen to the lyrics of "Still In The Water" and then "Monday Morning Apocalypse", they form a series because "Still In The Water" has the words "How can I save myself from Apocalypse..." and "Monday Morning Apocalypse" has the words "How long have you held me in this water ?...How long have you kept me in this water?...". I asked some people to experiment listening to the album by making "Still In The Water" as the opening track, and they told me that the album sounds much much better and they also agree with me that it's more than odd to put this song as the 9th of the tracklist.

Speaking of the title-track, it has the weakest chorus from all the songs of the album. I don't know if "weakest" would be the right word. The chorus of "Monday Morning Apocalypse" is not very appealing and catchy. Also, there are hints of improvements in Tom's voice; this is very evident in the last song of the album "Closure". My favorite track of the whole album is "At Loss For Words". Actually, "At Loss Of Words" is a grammatically and technically accurate title. This isn't the only song w/ a technical error in language, there are other songs in which such errors are present.

All the songs are great. I look at this album as an experimental piece and I'd use this album to introduce everyone to Evergrey. If they're happy with "Monday Morning Apocalypse", then they must check out their earlier albums that defined them. What are missing in this album are the intensity of the heaviness you find in their previous albums. This album is heavy, but not so heavy compared to their previous albums. The intensity, which is the driving force in their previous albums, is also lacking. Since I mentioned that the keyboards are almost inaudible, there aren't any keyboard solos from Rikard. Come on guys, Rikard's a great keyboardist and his solo in "End Of Your Days" is fucking amazing. Speaking of Rikard, I'm sorry to hear about the death of your grandmother, Dagmar Nordell, has all my prayers. May her soul rest in peace. I must say "Till Dagmar" is a beautiful instrumental piece. It's also the only Evergrey song w/ a Swedish title.

I rate this album 9 out of 10, and Evergrey getting a 9 is a disappointment. My advice to the Evergrey guys is stop working with Sanken Sandqvist, and get Arnold Lindberg back. Yes, I understand that "Monday Morning Apocalypse" was about 'crossing boundaries'. If you wanna do something different for a change, add more keyboard solos and have complex rhythm and riffing structures, and make your guitar solo sections more technical and progressive and challenging. At the same time, maintain the intensity and heaviness you have in your first 5 albums. Jonas Ekdahl, you're a great and talented drummer...be a little more aggressive, especially on the snares. And lastly, no hard feelings guys, please proofread your lyrics before releasing them, and make sure there aren’t any grammatical and technical errors. Please don’t take this as offence…English is neither your nor my native tongue, and you guys are doing a great job in a language that the whole world understands. I couldn’t have done any better in Swedish. Evergrey isn’t the only band that made grammatical errors in their lyrics, even bands like Amon Amarth and Bathory did. Do your best in avoiding grammatical errors by proofreading your lyrics and we fans are always there to help you. If I did offend you w/ my advice on grammar, I apologize in advance and I ask for forgiveness.

I hope my review and pieces of advice help the band and the fans understand. I rest my case.

"Monday Morning Apocalypse" rating:

:headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: out of 10

You sir are an idiotl! Why are you so concerned about the grammar when you yourself have made the same mistakes in your posting? Firstly 'At Loss For Words' is actually correct in English (the saying goes: 'found at loss for words' ). 'At Loss Of Words' is incorrect, it should be 'At a loss of words'.

Then you go on to say 'What are missing in this album are the intensity' which should be 'What IS missing in this album IS the intensity'

Grammar etc is irrelevant in poetry and lyrics!! It always has been so stop worrying about it. Lastly, next time you post something so ridiculous get someone to proof read it for you!

MMA rocks!!! End of.
 
pentakle361 said:
Thank you for pointing out the mistakes. Now look at the edited version above. C-ya later!!!

:headbang:

The strange thing is I actually agree with most of what you've said about the album. I just cant fathom why you are carrying on about the grammar. It is not important. As you've said English is not their first language. There has always been these types of mistakes with European bands. I can recall a Love Like Blood album in the 1980's (Flags of Revolution) and the comments and lyrics in the sleeve were wrong and out of context at times. It's just never bothered me. It reminds me that the band I am listening to is from another country, thats all

:headbang:
 
And Zero Hour's "Towers of Avarice" is about the same length, and its a masterpiece. quality over quantity I say, an album doesn't have to be 79:59 to be great. In fact, when bands try to cram all that on a disc, it only speaks to me that they're trying to buy time and either couldn't condense their thoughts into something more focused, or simply felt that in order to appeal to the prog deities they'd have to stick in a few filler spots just to take up all the space on the canvas instead of worrying about trying to make a piece of art.